


What's to come

by talinatera



Series: Not my fault [1]
Category: Star Wars - All Media Types
Genre: Alternate Universe - Zombie Apocalypse, Cussing, Ficlet, Hux has a tattoo, Implied/Referenced Rape/Non-con, Kylux kinda, Love/Hate, M/M, Mitaka mentioned, Near Death Experiences, OCs - Freeform, POV Hux, Slow Burn, The AU no one asked for, Zombies, phasma mentioned, short story to larger series, some violence
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-06-27
Updated: 2018-07-06
Packaged: 2019-05-29 06:04:34
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 3
Words: 11,910
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15066761
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/talinatera/pseuds/talinatera
Summary: He could hear them growling and snarling beneath him and he quickly started to make his way through the vent, praying they wouldn't make it up into the vents with him. He crawled his way and saw utter chaos down in the isles as he passed small grates. He couldn't see much, but he wasn't stopping to watch either."Hux!" He paused at his name and looked through the grate he'd just passed. He squinted and looked around and was able to make out Ren running for the door teaming with Zombies. The flashlight fell out of his mouth and hit the bottom of the vent with a metallic thunk as he took a breath. "Shit- REN!" He started to hit the grate trying to push it off. "REN! I'm up here!" Damn what he wouldn't give for his gun right then.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> As always I own nothing but the idea and the original characters nor do I claim to own them.
> 
> All mistakes are my own.
> 
> This is a short story, a background of sorts, to a larger work I'm currently working on. I hope you enjoy.

Hux sighed inwardly as Ren stood in front of him. If anyone had asked him, he could give a shopping list of reasons why the man in front of him was the biggest pain in the ass he had ever had the displeasure of working with. But that was only if someone asked him... Which was not being done at the present. In fact it was quite the opposite that was being asked. What good did Kylo bring to the group? Quite literally Ren's life was hanging in the balance of his answer. Snoke looked at him with a quirked brow waiting. Expectantly.

Phasma though was the one who spoke up on their bosses behalf. "Come now Armitage. You've managed to bring back our renegade knight and We're leaving his fate to you. You are the one who suffered the most out of this whole affair." He could see that Phasma didn't understand why he was hesitating. In fact he would not doubt if everyone there was wondering why he hesitated with his sentence. But how could she know? Any of them really. How could they possibly understand the last fortnight of hell he'd gone through at the hands of the man in front of him?

How in the world had his life spiraled down to this?

Of course that was a foolish question. He knew very well how his life had spiraled out of control. And though he would very much like to blame the first day he had ever lain eyes on Kylo as the day his life went to shit, it was indeed much sooner than that. One could be as daring as say the day he was born in fact was when his life became utter shit. But being born was hardly something he had control over, so the day he met Ren would have to suffice. Or maybe that only counted for the old world? Maybe this new problem he found himself in started the day Ren decided he was going to go and start the Knights of Ren.

It had been three months into the new world everyone left alive called home. He had been thankful at first that so many of his squad survived the initial outbreak of the weaponized zombie plague. Or rather everyone he talked to, which included the emotional Ren. Three months had everyone on edge. People had hoped that a cure would be found, that communications with the others in the military would be connected. That they'd see other people who were still breathing. Three months with the same faces and no others was a difficult thing to live with. Especially when one of those faces was Ren.

Ren drove him up the wall with the way he acted, with the way he liked to act as if nothing Hux said or did was worth his time. It was maddening knowing that what you did to protect the people around you was unknown and you were ridiculed for the after effects of it. So when Ren came up to him on that day he was not in the mood to say the least.

"Ren if you dont have something good to say, get the kriff away from me." Hux said around a cigarette. He had just finished up spending one on one time with Snoke and he was not in the mood to deal with what ever Ren had to say.

"That's not a nice way to great your friend Hux."

"I don't have friends Ren, and if I did you certainly wouldn't be in their numbers." He took his cigarette out and blew the smoke in Ren's general direction. "What do you want?"

"I want you on my side."

Hux looked at him a moment completely dumbfounded by what the man had just said. He looked so serious... He snorted and almost smiled. "That's a good one Ren. I'll admit that was a good one." He took another drag with a shake of his head.

"I'm being serious Hux. I want you on my side. What do I need to do to achieve that?"

He was being serious wasn't he? There was a look in his eyes Hux hadn't seen before, what was going on? The red head stood up from where he'd been sitting and dusted his pants off before looking at Kylo again. "For starters you can keep out of my way."

"That doesn't sound-"

"I don't bloody care what it sounds like, I'm telling you if you want me to be 'on your side' what ever the hell that means, then you best start by not riding my ass all the time." He flicked the butt of his cigarette to the ground and stamped out what was left. "Now if you'll excuse me I have work I'm sure I need to be doing."

He made to storm past Kylo but the man obviously had other ideas and grabbed his arm to stop him. "Hux-"

Hux though turned on Ren so fast the man nearly took a step backwards, "unhand me at once." Hux hissed, giving his arm a yank. Ren, taken aback by the sudden change, did as told without issue. "I put up with a great deal Ren, but if you ever touch me again I will not be held responsible for what happens. Do I make myself clear?"

Where Ren had grabbed him still tingled, no- burned. It burned because of what he'd just been through, it burned like every other touch he had experienced burned. He hated it, hated the way it felt when someone touched him, hated how that monster had turned even the simplest touch into something horrific.

Ren hesitated a moment, and Hux took that as his opportunity to leave before he snapped...again. He stalked through the camp to the little stream that ran through their base. It had been fortunate that the army had set up part of their base so close to the river. It made fresh water almost a non existent problem in the new world.

Hux quickly stripped down to his skin before slipping into the freezing water and almost sighed as the cold nipped at him. It wasn't cold enough for snow yet so the water was still manageable. The first time he'd done this, he hadn't lasted twenty seconds, but he'd finally gotten to where he could spend a few minutes in the water before he had to retreat for the sake of his health.

He took in a giant breath then grabbed onto a bolder that sat in the middle of the stream and moved himself down until he was sitting on the bottom of the river. The sound of the water was all he heard, the feeling of the water gently wiping at his skin helped his heart rate calm down. This- this is what he needed. It was these moments that kept him sane. That kept him able to continue from day to day. He adjusted his hold on the large bolder as the stream tugged to pull him along with it. How many times had he considered doing just that? Just going it's the flow?

_"You belong to me boy." Hands ran up his side, as he tried not to think of what was happening. "I see the way the others treat you." He screwed his eyes shut as the breath played along the top of his ear. "Why do this for them?" His breath came in shallow intervals as he felt the tongue swipe up the back of his neck. "You should thank me you know- for even considering your terms, let alone following them." Hux didn't move. He just had to get through this and everything would be alright. "I said-" suddenly he was flipped over and he could see straight into Snoke's eyes. "Thank me boy." The man growled._

_"Fuck you." His own eyes widened as the words slipped past his lips._

_"Ah- there he is." Before he could utter another word hands were clasped around his neck and he found his air cut off. "I'd wondered if the fight had finally left you after all this time. I'm so glad to see we won't have to reconsider our arrangement." Hux beat at the arms that held him down, tried to claw at the fingers around his neck. He couldn't breath- his lungs we're burning, everywhere the man touched him was burning, and he couldn't breath!_

His eyes ripped open as the screaming of his lungs demanded more air and he kicked back up to the surface. As soon as his head breached he took in a giant gulp of the fresh air before going into a coughing fit. He ran a hand over his eyes as he tried to rub the water out of them. He knew better- knew better than to relax. He moved towards the bank and clung into a clump of grass as he evened out his breathing.

He wondered what would have happened if he had reported him back before the plague. If he had reported Snoke to the higher ups what he had been doing, would the world be the way it was right then? He snorted and shook his head. No... It would still be this way. Loyalty to his country ran too deep within him.

"Hux."

He mentally groaned and looked up at Ren as he tucked his arms under the water. "It appears even being blatantly obvious is not enough for you to grasp my meaning."

"I'm being serious Hux. Things- things are going to happen and I want you on my side."

That caught his attention and he frowned at the man. "What things?"

"We need to... Explore further out. Reach out to anyone who's still alive around us. Maybe alliance ourselves with them. I have a group that's ready to split."

Hux didn't like what he was hearing. "Alright, so you want to make more runs further out. You don't need me on your side for that. Unless this is something Snoke would not be pleased with?" Ren's hesitation was all he needed. He cursed under his breath and hauled himself out of the water, his skin stinging from how cold it had been. "I know you are not suggesting what I think you are." He hissed as he advanced on the man.

"He's delusional Hux." He hissed back, not backing down from the red head as he advanced, eyes firmly locked on the others. "He's going to end up getting us all killed and you know that."

"He is our leader!"

"He stopped being that a long time ago and you know it!"

"So what would you have us do? Throw order out the window and make a run for it? We don't know if anyone else is alive. Don't know how the environment has changed, or how many of those things are out there. And if you think that man will let us go without a fight-"

"But if you're with us the men will follow you!" Hux paused, shocked that Ren would admit such a thing. "The ones that aren't loyal to me are loyal to you Hux. With both of us joining forces we would be a force to be reckoned with."

Hux started to shake his head disbelieving he was hearing Kylo right. "No- no you've gone mad Ren. You don't know what you're saying."

"You know I'm right."

Yes, Hux knew very well the man was right. Knew that Snoke was so far gone he could be bit tomorrow and the only thing that would be different was the lack of fucking he did. But he had been with the man for a decade now... He was so twisted around that mans grasp he wasn't sure he could shake it. Wasn't sure he we know how to carry on without him. It was something he had thought Ren would understand... But apparently not. "I can't Ren." He breathed before he slipped back into his clothes. "I can't do what you're asking."

"Why not?"

"It's complicated."

"Complicated? Or are you just too cowardly? Too afraid to step away from the 'safety' of the man who's praise you cling to?" Ren snorted. "I don't even know why I bothered with you."

Hux kept his mask of indifference on as he finished dressing. "I advise you not to do anything stupid Ren. Let this be the end of what ever you're planning." Then he walked away from the man and back to the main hub of the camp.

If only Ren had listened. Not two days later he started a rebellion of sorts and took a half dozen men with him and they fled from the camp. Those strictly loyal to Snoke tried to fight them, but Hux had kept his men out of the fight. In fact the only time he got involved was when one man had Ren in his sights and a claw if fear latched into him and before he could think he knocked the gun to the side.

"Enough!" He'd yelled at all of them and those not with Ren stopped and looked at him dumbfounded. "We do not need to waste ammo on people who would only slow us down. I will talk to Snoke while you lot get back to work!" Mitaka quickly took up the order and shuffled the people back to their stations as Hux turned back around in time to see Ren give him the finger. "I should have let him get shot." He grumbled as he went to talk with Snoke about what to do.

Snoke had been livid that Hux had allowed Ren and six men get away. "You worthless boy!"

Hux's cheek stung as he pulled himself up to his knees. "If we had fired any more bullets we would have risked the zombies-"

Another slap made him shut up and grind his teeth. He glared daggers at the floor, almost wishing he had gone with Ren. "We just lost our best fighters! All that was left of the field unit! We're as good as sitting ducks without them now!"

"My men-"

"Are untested boys general. They hadn't gotten the chance to see real action in the field before this all happened, and I wouldn't trust them to defend this camp let alone venture into the world beyond it!" Hux remained silent, knowing nothing he said would make a difference at this point. Snoke was silent a long time, pacing back and forth in front of Hux. He made the occasional huff and paused every now and again to glare at the red head before he finally settled in front of him again. "You will go bring him back."

"What?" He looked up his eyes large and unbelieving. "Sir-"

"This is on you Armitage. You should have known this was going to happen, he was your co-commander for petes sake. So you will go and find the man and bring him back into the fold. Or bring him back for execution."

Hux licked his lips as he realized the man was serious. "He's only just left, give him time sir to come to terms with the reality of the outside world. It will make him easier to win back."

"Very well, give him a week, and if he doesn't come crawling back of his own accord then you are to retrieve him." He waved his hand in dismissal and Hux knew the matter was settled. He got up and left the building, a frown on his face.

A week later and there was no sign of Ren.

"Sir?"

"Mitaka I need a few days supplies ready for me in five minutes."

"Supplies? We aren't scheduled-"

"I bloody well know that." He snapped then sighed as he saw Mitaka flinched away. He rubbed his temples a moment before looking back. "I know, I'm going after Ren."

"Do you want me to go with you sir?"

He shook his head. Somehow he knew this wasn't going to be an easy mission, and he had doubts he would return... "No I need you here to run things until I get back. Understood?" Mitaka nodded his head. "Good, now go do what I've asked."

Phasma hadn't been thrilled when she learned the second of the two people she could stand was leaving. "If you get killed out there Hux, I may just go crazy and kill everyone here myself."

"Well I'll try to make it back in one piece." He tugged his gloves on, the feeling of the worn leather a small comfort to him. "Do keep an eye on Mitaka, he'll be your help with keeping everyone else in line."

She snorted but nodded her head. "I suppose you could have chosen someone worse."

"He's got a good head on his shoulders. He'll serve you well." He slung the bag over his shoulder, before holstering his gun. "I'll be back as quick as I can."

"I don't care what Snoke may or may not have said. If it comes down to you or him, I want you to come back."

Hux gave her a grateful smile being smirking. "Careful Phasma, that almost sound like you care."

"About my own sanity, believe me." She ruffled his hair, which got him scowling. "Remember to mask that very clean scent of yours. The sooner you smell like one of them the sooner you'll be able to hide better."

Hux hated to admit that she was right on that, but she was. The moment he came across a dead zombie he started to rub it on to help him hide. This wasn't like his others runs out here before. This was the first time he'd gone out alone since it had started. He'd either always gone out with Phasma and Mitaka to make supply runs as often as they could. He'd gotten stuck a few times with Ren, and he at least felt safe with the man if nothing else.

He'd missed him. He would never admit it, but he had missed him something awful. He had been physically sick several times the last week worried that Ren wouldn't be alive when he finally found him. Then he would get pissed off for being so weak as to worry like that. He shouldn't care.... He didn't care. Never mind he hadn't gotten more than a couple hours of sleep here and there as he kept hoping Ren would come home. Right now though...he just needed to focus on finding the man.

A task that was beginning to prove difficult.

The chill to the air spoke of the coming snow, and he was none too pleased with being out in that weather away from the safety of the walls, and the warmth of the fire. The comfort of his bed and the heater that was his cat. Already he had spent three days out here looking for the man. Two nights trying to balance in a tree for sleep. He was sure his cheeks and nose were turning red from the wind nipping at his face and he pulled the scarf tighter around it. Damn Ren and his thoughtless actions.

The sound of a gun cocking made him stop in his tracks. "Not even two weeks without me and already you're getting sloppy." He turned around and scowled at Ren over the top of his scarf. "Ah ah, gun Hux."

He was okay. He was alive. Ren, the stupid man, was still breathing and in front of him. He shouldn't be this relieved to see the return of his headache. He kept pushing the reasoning why to the back of his head. The red head rolled his eyes and crossed his arms. "You need to come back."

"I need to do nothing of the sort."

"You've had your fun. You figured out who's loyal to you, got to play outside for a bit, but Snoke wants you back."

"Gun. Now." Hux found it frustrating the game Ren was playing, but decided to indulge him. He unholstered his gun and tossed it over. It was worth it to see the shock that crossed Ren's face from his being compliant.

"Now can we talk?"

"I have no intentions of going back Hux." He said as he stuffed the gun into his own bag. "So you can just March right back to your master like the dog you are and tell him as much."

He glared at the insult but knew he was still trying to convince him to come back, and getting into a yelling match right then wouldn't do anything to win him over. "If I go back without you then I'm as good as dead."

"Without your gun out here you're as good as a dead." Kylo shrugged and started to walk away. "Sounds like you're just a dead man walking Hux. Maybe you should have joined me then you wouldn't be in this mess."

"What do you want Ren?"

"Nothing. When I asked you to join me that was when you could bring men to the table. The way I see it now, you are useless to me." That stung. It shouldn't have but it did. "And my Knights don't need dead weight to carry around."

"Knights?"

"Yes- the men I took. They're now known as the Knights of Ren."

Maybe it was stress, maybe because of lack of sleep, or poor eating habits. Maybe it was because that was such a Ren thing to do. What ever the reason was, he wasn't sure of, but at the name Hux snorted and started to laugh. Kylo turned around and frowned. The look of annoyance only made him laugh harder. He tried to cover his mouth and hold it in, his body shaking from the effort, but he continued to have small outbursts.

"Think that's funny?"

He choked a little and tried to brush it off as a cough. "What? No... No of course not. Just- just wondered who in the world already knows the- the Knights of..." He dipped his head down trying to keep from laughing. "Who knows about your Knights already."

"We're working on it." Hux looked up to see him much closer and anger set in his face.

He let out a small breath and for a moment felt his walls come down as he truly looked Rem in the eyes. Trying to convey something he would probably never be able to voice. "Ren- please just come back and all will be forgiven."

"I'm not going back there Hux. I can't, he's-" they were interrupted by the others stepping into the clearing.

"Would you look at this? Snoke sent his dog to fetch us back."

Hux scowled and glanced at the knight, all openness and pleasantness gone from his face. "Please, he doesn't even know who you are."

The man, Bai, snarled and stepped towards him threateningly. "You don't have any friends out here Hux."

Hux had never liked the man. He admitted he was good at what he did and was someone you wanted on your side, but beyond that he was sick. Besides the fact he seemed to hate Hux and the position he'd gotten to in the military. He'd always claimed he'd slept his way up the ladder. That the only reason Snoke kept him around was because he was a good distraction. Hux wasn't sure if he was more pissed that he'd assume things like that or that he was so close to the truth with Snoke and still hated him for what he did.

"If I remember correctly, he doesn't have friends at all." Ren said his eyes dark as he looked at Hux. "Take him, we can't have him going back to the base with how close he got to us."

"What?" Hux spat. A knight came up and made a grab for him but Hux wasn't going to go easily. He ducked under the attempt and brought his elbow down into the small of the others back. "Ren you can't be serious." He said incredulously.

Another knight made to grab him but he danced out of the way. "First you want to be with me then you want to be away from me... Honestly Hux you need to make up your mind." The third attempt caught him and twisted his arms up behind his back. He glared at Ren as he felt his hands a restrained. "Let's get back to camp."

He was truly beginning to regret ever agreeing to come after Ren.

Miserable didn't seem a strong enough word for what he was feeling at the present moment. He had been secured to a tree while the others huddled around a fire, eating and cutting up. How had his day gone from bad to worse? He had thought a week out here would be enough time to win Ren back, to bring him home... But apparently it had only strengthened his resolve that this was what he wanted.

He shifted in his spot by the tree trying to get a little more comfortable. He would much rather be up in the tree than on the forest floor. Especially being away from the others. Every noise had him jumping, waiting for a zombie to sneak up and rip his throat out. He shivered involuntarily and tried to blame it on the cold.

The sound of foot falls coming towards him grabbed his attention and he saw Ren walking towards him, mug in hand. "You look cold."

"Tends to happen when kept out in the cold." Hux snapped back.

Ren seemed to rethink his tactic and took a step closer. "What I mean is, would you like something warm?"

Hux bit back a remark as he looked at the steaming mug. "Perhaps."

"Well I mean if you don't know-"

"Damn it, yes Ren I would." He didn't even complain as Ren knelt beside him and offered the cup to his lips. He was pleasantly surprised by some sort of stew and greedily downed everything in the cup, licking his lips once he was finished.

"When was the last time you ate?" He looked over to see Ren frowning and scoffed and looked away.

"Sometime earlier." He heard the man sigh and get up. "Am I to stay here all night?" He ventured.

"What? Worried a zombie's going to get you?" Ren chuckled and continued walking to the camp.

Well actually yes, that was exactly what he was worried about, but apparently that didn't matter. He sighed and let his head fall back against the tree and decided if he were to be eaten he'd rather not know about it and so tried to get some sleep.

Of course when the sun started to peak through the trees he hadn't gotten a single wink of sleep


	2. Chapter 2

Three days he had been tied to this tree. He'd been let up to relieve himself of natures call but besides that it had been this. They had even gone and left him tied to this tree. They'd been gone for hours in fact. He had the gashes on his wrists to prove it where he had been trying to free himself. A broken branch sat beside him that he had hoped to find a way to use to pry at his bonds, but it ended up being too big to be of any actual use.

He was cold, and tired. Though he couldn't say he was really hungry. Ren seemed to have been rather upset with how hungry he had been that first evening... He didn't understand why for the life of him. He couldn't recall him showing that concern back at the base, but then Hux had never been able to not sleep because of being worried for Ren's safety. So a week of new things.

He cursed and tugged at his ropes again. He couldn't keep thinking bout that. His life would be simpler if he just accepted it happened and moved on with it. It was a waste of time to think about what he was feeling towards a certain tall, dark haired, child. He hissed as he felt his skin tear and quickly eased up on what he had been doing as he felt a drizzle of warmth trickle across his wrists again.

This was getting him no where. He popped his neck to either side as he tried to figure out another way to get free. Maybe there was a rock or smaller branch that looked sharp and pointy. He started to try and shimmy his way around the tree, which was the wrong thing to do. He smelled the zombie before he saw it. He completely stilled when his eyes landed on it. It looked like it should be making sounds, growling or something but he heard nothing from it. Where were those stupid people! His eyes widened and he tried, with more anxiety, to break free. Now it really was about the survival of his life.

He started to shimmy around again but the creature was faster. It lunged at him and made for his neck. He cursed, curled his legs up then kicked the thing off of him. "Go away, go away, go away." He hissed under his breath as the zombie came for round two. He had yet to wish for the Knights to return sooner as much as he was wanting them to return right now. He lashed out and kicked the thing in the jaw which didn't actually slow it down. It tried to grab his leg to feast on, and he started to panic. He twisted his leg as best he could before wrenching it out of its grasp.

Faintly he thought he could make out more foot steps and he really started to panic as he began to imagine more of them coming. He couldn't even handle one, let alone multiple. He curled his legs again and kicked the zombie with enough force that it went flying backwards. He tugged at his bonds once more but still found them immovable. "Come on." He cursed quietly as the zombie still wasn't dead and was making its way back to him.

He glared at it and clenched his jaw as he heard the other steps getting closer. He scanned the ground for anything he could use as a weapon, and his eyes fell on the branch he'd tried to use earlier. It would have to work. He scrambled with his legs to try and curl around it as the zombie started to stagger for him again. He cursed as the branch repeatedly slipped from his legs. "Breath Hux." He said, trying to calm his heart down. If he didn't focus and get that branch he'd be a dead man. The zombie was nearly on him before he finally got the branch between his calves and managed to move to to between his knees.

No sooner had he gotten it pointed out in front of him than the zombie impaled itself on it. He yelled at the impact and was certain for a moment that it would just keep sliding and eat him. Its hands reached out to him and he could feel the claw like nails drag across his face and left small burning trails where ever they touch. Its jaw was snapping open and closed as it still tried to reach him. But with the stick keeping it at an odd angle it was just far enough away to be helpless.

His heart was still hammering inside his chest as he looked at the creature trying to eat him. "You've really made my day a pain." He breathed out trying to calm his shaken nerves and no doubt trembling body. At any moment the branch could break- or it could rip itself in two and still eat him-

"I mean if you think I'm no help-" his eyes snapped to just behind the zombie and saw Ren looking breathless.

Hux let out a relieved breath, almost a sob he was sorry to say, at the sight and his head fell back on the tree as he tried to regain his composure. He felt the zombie go limp on top of him, then removed altogether. Soon warm hands were on him as Ren checked him over for any bites. His fingers gently brushed at his face and Hux leaned into the touch needing anything comforting at the moment.

He'd been worried something like that would happen since the first night they'd tied him over here, and for it to finally have happened while they were away... A shiver ran down his spine at the thought of what might have been if they hadn't shown back up when they did.

"Hey- hey it's over." Ren said in the softest voice he'd ever heard him use.

Hux nodded his head and looked down, not having the freedom to wipe at his eyes. "Yes- good thing you came round when you did."

"Good thing." Ren said, that foreign... Softness still in his voice. Hux cleared his throat trying to make his brain kick back in and function but found all he could think about were the eyes of the zombie, the way they hade been so vacant and yet the body so animated... The teeth that had tried to tear into his flesh. He jumped a little as he felt the ropes slacken and then slip down, freeing him from his position.

Ren brought Hux's hands up and took the bindings off his wrists and frowned at the damage Hux had done to himself trying to get free. "Before or during the attack?"

"Both." He didn't dare move his hands from Ren's grasp, worried it might provoke an attack or get him stuck to the tree again. "You should know me by now, can't stand to just sit around doing nothing." He added in a slightly clipped voice.

Ren sighed and shook his head before helping Hux to his feet. "I suppose I should have. Come on then, you're to stay with me." The look he gave him left no room for arguing and frankly Hux wasn't about to start. He was happy enough to have use of his limbs and be free from that blasted tree. So he nodded his head in agreement and followed Ren to the fire.

"What the hell? Why's he here?"

"Bai if you haven't noticed, he's been here for a few days now." Ren said claiming his normal spot and patting the place beside him for Hux.

"You know what I mean. What's he doing at our fire? The cur should be back where he belongs."

Ren gave Hux a mug with food in it which the red head took gladly. "He's right where he belongs." Ren looked at Bai with a pointed gaze. "If we ever wish to barter him back to the order he has to be alive and in good health. Right now he's neither of those things."

"I'm not some pawn to be tossed about Ren." Hux snapped, though with no where near the normal aggression as he'd used in the past. All he got was a hum and wave of the hand in reply.

"Are you already questioning my reasoning not two weeks from our liberation?" He instead asked Bai, looking completely calm. Which was almost more frightening than a pissed off Ren, Hux thought.

"No sir." Bai reluctantly replied.

"Good. Then trust I know what I'm doing." He looked to the others in the group. "Understood?" There was a chorus of yes sir around the camp fire which seemed to settle the matter and soon they were talking about the day's work. Ren though brought his attention back to Hux. "Let me find my bag real quick." Hux didn't bother asking why, and only watched as he got up to leave enjoying the food he was consuming.

"He won't always be around to save you." Bai gritted out glaring at him from his spot.

"The same could be said for you." Hux replied evenly, enjoying the red that crawled up the mans face. Before the other could retort to that Ren was back and pulling Hux's arm towards him. "What are you doing?" Hux asked cautiously.

"Tending to the damage you've done." He said and tugged up the sleeve before Hux could protest. He frowned at what he saw on the under part of his arm. "What is this?" How had he never noticed something like that before? Though if he thought back to it, he couldn't think of a single time he'd seen that part of his arm without a shirt on. Even in the water he kept it tucked in, and reached for everything with the other... He felt though like that was not a worthy excuse for not noticing something that covered most of his forearm.

"A tattoo Ren." He stated simply, praying he couldn't feel the way his heart beat quickened at the deiscovery.

"You got a tattoo?"

"Obviously."

"What of?" He squinted at the arm and started to try and make out what it was. He felt like there was something under the tattoo. A word maybe?

Hux tried to pull the arm back obviously uncomfortable that Ren looked like he was figuring it out on his own. "Are you going to help my wrists or not?"

Ren sighed but nodded his head and got to work on the wrists. He cleaned them as best he could then wrapped them with the bandages he had on hand. He gave him a light pat then turned back to the fire.

"I still think the super market would be the next best place to go. Come on Ren help me out here."

"Jeb's right. Super market is the best idea."

"You're just saying that cause he's your favorite."

"And he got to be that way because he uses he brain more. We're going to the supermarket next. End of discussion."

Jeb looked pleased with himself and nodded his thanks. "Let's say, day after tomorrow?"

Kylo nodded his head in agreement. "That'll give us time to rest up from today."

Hux would soon realize, he should have asked to be tied to the tree again.  
  
Armitage frowned as they looked down at the super market below them. It was dusted in snow, and everywhere he looked he could see the drag marks of slow footsteps. "You honestly want to go in there? It looks like a death trap waiting to be sprung." Even if he'd had his gun back he wouldn't have felt comfortable going into that hell hole.

"Wishing you had stayed behind?" Hux glared at the knight Bai.

"Bai, if it got me away from you, I'd take anywhere." The man snarled but Ren put a stop to it.

"I don't need to you two at each other's throats while we do this. Hux you can either come with or get tied to a tree." Hux rolled his eyes but grudgingly agreed to go down. "Good. We all know the plan? Let's go."

The eight of them quietly made their way down the small hill and onto the parking lot. Hux adjusted his grip on the knife he'd been given as they saw the first of the zombies. He tried to stick close to Ren, knowing there was no love lost between him and any of the others that were there. At least he had a chance of Ren maybe caring if he died.

The way the others took care of the zombies outside was simply amazing to watch. It was done in the way only men who had worked a long time could perform. If he hadn't been so pissed at them all for putting him through hell he may have been impressed even.

They slipped into the building without further complications and he then realized why it had been so quiet outside. Inside there were countless zombies... Though they all seemed to be... Sluggish? Maybe it was the cold. Maybe they were near frozen and without a functioning heart, blood wasn't pumping through them to try and keep things moving.

"Keep quiet and grab what'll fit into your packs." Hux nodded his head and started down the isle with the least number of zombies on it. He could slip his knife into the heads of the ones he knew he could take care of without causing a ruckus, but otherwise he tried to keep to the edges. Not wanting to draw any attention to himself without a gun on hand.

Hux had been relatively pleased with the supplies he had gather as he came around the corner. He'd found. Nice supply of meds, and non-perishables.He froze though as he felt a hand clamp over his arm followed quickly by one over his mouth. He brought a hand up to his mouth before he heard the voice of Bai. "Shut up." He hissed and Hux tried to look around for a reason this was happening. Maybe there had been a zombie he'd almost stepped on, or one that was stirring he hadn't seen.

When nothing popped out he frowned and tried to pull away only for the man to tighten his grip. He heard the sound of a door opening and without further warning he was tossed inside and the door closed behind him. Fuck his life. He cursed and darted for the door only to hear something be dragged in front of it and blocking it from being opened.

He gave it one good kick and took a breath to yell when he heard a growl behind him. His face drained of all color and he quickly turned around and fumbled for his flashlight. No, no no no he couldn't be locked in with zombies. Please don't be locked in with zombies. He clicked the light on to see a zombie not three feet from him.

He yelped involuntarily and slashed out as the thing turned towards him. It growled as he only successfully nicked it and didn't stop it from lunging towards him. He cursed again and side stepped and brought the knife up and down into its skull. He didn't have time to rejoice though as another one was in front of him.

He backed away from it and stumbled over yet another one on the floor. His heart started to race and his breathing became erratic. How many were in here? He quickly drove the knife into the head of the one on the floor before having to roll to the side as the second one was now almost on top of him. He kicked out with his legs as that zombie stumbled to the floor and he quickly made to end her life, only to have just enough time to to dodge another one from the side.

He could feel his body trembling, but also could feel muscle memory kick in. He sidestepped the creature lunging at him and quickly brought the knife down into the skull, before ripping it back out. He heard the female one back on her feet and running for him and he turned in time to get a swipe to his shoulder. He yelped again as the claw like nails of the zombie ripped through the layers and ripped deep into his skin.

He snarled and twirled around as she lunged again and brought the knife down into her skull and felt the body go limp and slide off the knife. He was breathing heavily and at first was so elated he was still breathing at all that he didn't recognize the sound of banging on the door. When the noise finally made it through his thoughts he realized that it wasn't Ren on the other side trying to get him out...

"Kriffing hell..." He quickly looked around and the only thing he could see was the vent up above him. He let out a quick breath and started to pull a chair over to help him get up. He could hear gun fire outside the door but pushed it aside. Even if they were able to draw the things away he still wouldn't be able to actually open the door. He slid the knife back into his belt, put the flashlight in his mouth, then hoisted himself up into the vent. A muffled cry came from him as his shoulder screamed in protest to the treatment but he pushed through it and hoisted himself into the vent, bringing his legs up just as he heard the door start to give way.

He could hear them growling and snarling beneath him and he quickly started to make his way through the vent, praying they wouldn't make it up into the vents with him. He crawled his way and saw utter chaos down in the isles as he passed small grates. He couldn't see much, but he wasn't stopping to watch either.

"Hux!" He paused at his name and looked through the grate he'd just passed. He squinted and looked around and was able to make out Ren running for the door teaming with Zombies. The flashlight fell out of his mouth and hit the bottom of the vent with a metallic thunk as he took a breath. "Shit- REN!" He started to hit the grate trying to push it off. "REN! I'm up here!" Damn what he wouldn't give for his gun right then.

Finally the grate jiggled and with a few more hits it popped off causing a loud crash that drew everyone's attention. He was thankful in a way as he even saw Ren look over. "I'll meet you outside!" He yelled pointing to the entrance as zombies started to crowd underneath him. He could see the man hesitate but couldn't decide the reasoning before Ren started running for the entrance. Hux nodded his head and started back on his own trek through the vents.

He heard bullets being fired and thought nothing of it until he heard them hit the space in the vent he had just been occupying. He cursed and double timed it' not sure if Bai was still trying to kill him or if it was stray shots from all the zombies. He decided the former as the bullets seemed to be just behind him as he bolted through the small space as fast as he could.

He finally took a corner that put him on the other side of the store wall and saw light at the end of his tunnel. He almost sobbed in excitement when he saw that and he pushed himself harder ready to get out of the nightmare. He came to the grate and could hear Ren outside the building yelling for him. It took some effort but he flipped around and used his legs to kick out this grate. It took almost as much time as the inner one had, but with some effort it finally came loose enough for him to get out.

He pushed himself through the opening not even caring what was beneath him. He let himself drop to the ground and landed on his feet, the impact a little jarring. But he wasted no time, as soon as his legs were under him he started to run for the hill they had all started on. He could hear Ren and the others and glanced over to see what their position was and noted they seemed to have everything under control. So he didn't slow down until he was at the top of the hill and finally doubled over, breathing heavily. He looked back and saw the Knights and Ren not far behind him. He raised a hand in greeting and tried to straighten up.

Ren made a beeline for him and as soon as he was within reaching distance he punched him in the face, causing Hux's head to crack to one side.

"What the hell?" Hux yelled as he brought a hand up to his face looking at Ren confused.

"The fuck was that!" Ren demanded.

"A kriffing mess!" Hux yelled back. "I told you that was a bad idea-"

"So you blew the whole operation up?!"

"You- you think this is my fault?" Hux asked incredulously. "Oh please, do share with us how this is my damn fault." He snarled.

"You were careless, got yourself stuck and your damn yelling got the rest of them to wake up! I would have noticed you were missing Hux!"

"Oh that'll be the day you notice when I'm gone Ren." He scoffed and crossed his arms. "That aside I didn't get myself stuck." He glared at Bai. "I was shoved in there by your dear knight." He hissed.

"Don't go blaming this on someone else Armitage."

Hux stiffened and turned his glare back on Ren, he took a moment swallowing at the use of his first name. He hated that name, hated how it only ever seemed to be used when others were pissed at him. Controlling him. "Obviously you've got a story."

"A story? No I have the fucking facts." Ren seethed.

He took a breath and let it out slowly. "I didn't get myself stuck Ren." He finally said softly.

Ren stepped closer and to Hux's credit he didn't flinch away. "Bai says differently."

"Because it was Bai who threw me in there." He said after a moment.

Ren finally paused in his anger and looked at Hux. He looked a mess. There was blood splatters all over his clothing, and his shoulder was torn and bleeding. His hair was falling into his face, into the eyes that looked like they hadn't known proper sleep in days. He looked like someone who could make a mistake. Like someone who was too tired to lie. Then he glanced to Bai. He almost looked smug, though there was something... Sinister to the eyes he hadn't seen before. "What reason would he have?" He asked the red head.

"I don't know." Hux admitted. "Except he's never been a big fan, thought I fucked my way to where I was, and now no longer in a position to care about the consequences of his actions towards me."

Ren knew Bai wasn't a fan of Hux but to go and try and lock him in with zombies and thus risk the event that happened? He didn't want to believe it. "Let's just get back to camp."

"You can't be serious boss. He almost got us all killed!"

Ren turned on Bai but realized that the others were nodding their head in agreement. He cursed and focused on Bai. If he wasn't careful he could lose thee tire team. "He claims the same of you." The others quieted and looked to Bai then, eyebrows raised. "It's come down to the only two witnesses claiming the other did it." He walked towards Bai and narrowed his eyes. "What would you have me do with him?"

"Kill him."

"Shall I kill you too then? Up until a week ago I trusted his council very much." Bai started stutter and Ren held up a hand. "What ever punishment you would see done to him you will have to undergo as well. So again I ask you, what would you do with him?"

Bai looked at Hux and glared daggers. Hux had to admit it was an interesting way to handle things. Normally people didn't want to go through anything awful themselves so what ever they chose, if anything, wouldn't be unbearable. Of course Bai was crazy. "Throw him in the river, arms tied behind his back."

Hux's eyes widened and he looked from Ren to Bai then back again. "Seriously?" Snow was literally on the ground.

Ren's shoulders were stiff, he didn't like this. He could end up losing Hux and a good fighter. But if he backed off his decision now he'd look weak, and the others would start to question him... "Very well." He turned around and started to lead the way to the river.

Hux quickly caught up to him. "Wait- Ren, Ren are you serious about this?"

"I've seen you bathe in the river back home. This'll be nothing for you."

"Yes bathing, not sinking to the bottom with my bloody hands behind my back." He hissed.

"Think you can't do it?"

"I think it's cold and the possibility of me dying from hypothermia is very real."

"You get out of there alive and I'll make sure you warm up as quickly as humanly possible. Deal?"

Hux scowled but realized there was no way he was getting out of this. He huffed and stuffed his hands into his pockets. He could do this... He could do this. He could also run...but he'd had countless times he could have run. But running would only result in his going back to Snoke without Ren... Which was bad in more ways than one. The longer he spent out here away from the base, even with the Knights hating him, he wished he had said yes to joining him. So he could run, but he wasn't going to. He wasn't going to because that would involve leaving Ren.

It took far less time than Hux had thought possible for them to arrive at the river, and soon enough they were stripping down to their base layers, and were standing at a small crest overlooking the river. "You live, we're all good, you die... We're still all good." Hux snorted but didn't have time for much else as both men were pushed into the gurgling river below.

His body almost went into shock just from hitting the water. Everything froze up and his mind went blank. He I idiotic went under the water and started to sink. Water surrounded him, all he could hear was the sound of the river flowing over him. It was... Calming. Feeling came back and he started to struggle with his bonds as he sank down to the bottom. He looked over and saw Bai struggling but it looked like he was going for his boxers? That made no sense. He decided to ignore the man and focused on getting his wrists free.

He looked over only to see that what he had thought the man was doing hadn't been it at all. He'd hidden a knife and was cutting his hands free. Hux cursed in his brain and wiggled faster. If he could breath things would get better. He'd almost gotten it when he felt a shift in the water then felt a booted foot collide with the side of his head. Stars went flashing across his vision and he tried to shake his head free of the foggy feeling. Another kick landed on his injured shoulder and it had him ready to drift away and his movements slowed. The cold felt nice now that he thought about it. It pricked at his skin and it was like he was back home, back at the base and just sitting on the bottom of the river blocking everything out.

The thought seemed to warm him and he took a breath in, only for water to fill the space air should have been. He gagged and started to struggle again, just trying to kick out against the water. Water was everywhere. Around him, inside of him, it felt like it was even up his nose and in his ears. He couldn't breath, he was becoming water. His vision blurred as he tried to kick again. Tried to find an up. Where was up? Where had Bai gone?

Ren was still standing on the bank, starting to worry as Hux still hadn't come up yet. Bai had come up over a minute ago now. He looked to the Knights then back to the water, willing the tuff of red hair to appear above the current. Another fifteen seconds of nothing though had him cursing and stripping. "Ren- he's supposed to do this on his own." Bai snapped. "If he's too pathetic to get out of a river he's too weak to survive in this new world."

But Ren was having none of it. He was certain now that Hux had been telling the truth. Without another glance to his men he jumped into the river and dove under water. He found the man within moments and had his arms around him and pulled him out of the water. He coughed as he tugged him onto the bank and cursed as he saw the now watery blood freely pouring from his shoulder. "Come on Hux." He said under his breath as he started to preform cpr. He was not about to lose him if he could save him. "Come on." He pumped his chest before pinching his nose and blowing into his mouth. "Come on, just take a breath." His face was so pale, his hair was sticking to it in a way he would have thought cute had he been breathing. Along side his temple he could just make out the impression of a boot mark. Had there been a boot mark before he'd gone under?

All thoughts stopped though as Hux sputtered out water and Kylo quickly turned him on his side and rubbed his back. "That's right, that's right breath." He noted that his hands appeared to have slipped free at some point. So why hadn't he come up? Hux turned around, his eyes bloodshot, his body viciously shaking ad his teeth chattering. He clung to Ren in an attempt to suck any body heat he had left.

"Ren what was that?" He ignored Bai and he took his outer coat and started to dry Hux off. "He should be dead." He needed to focus on Hux first. He started to pull the dry clothes back onto his shivering form before he dried himself off. "Ren!" Ren heard Jeb hiss something at Bai as he got dressed into his base layer before draping the rest of his clothes onto Hux. He needed more heat but he had to deal with the problem.

"You tried to kill him." He finally said point blank.

"I was down there too!"

"He has two well placed boot impressions on his body that weren't there before he jumped in." He gritted out.

Bai hesitated before scowling. "So I may have kicked him trying to get up to the surface."

"H-he ha-had a knife." Hux stuttered out.

"You shut your mouth dead man!" Hux merely flipped him the bird. Bai snarled and lunged towards him only to be stopped and pushed back by Kylo.

"Back. Off."

"If you wanted to keep the dog you should have brought him along to start with." Bai growled.

"Where are your ropes?"

"What?"

"An easy way to figure this out would be to find the ropes. They should be ripped' or still intact if you didn't use a knife."

Fear started to entered the mans eyes finally and Ren knew then without a doubt that Hux hadn't been lying. "They're lost to the river." He stuttered.

Jeb stepped forward with ropes in hand and handed them over to Ren. "Knight master, I fished them out when he came up so quickly."

"Thank you Jeb." He looked at the ropes and found them cleanly cut through. "Would you look at that Bai." He glared at the man over the ropes and tossed them to the next Knight to inspect.

"That doesn't change you saved him."

"We never said I couldn't. You simply assumed I wouldn't." Ren said dismissively.

A small thudding sound from behind him caught his attention and he turned around and saw Hux lying on the ground passed out. He cursed and quickly picked him up. "Jeb I leave his fate in your hands. Meet me at the camp." He then left and double timed it back to the camp, back to safety, back to warmth.


	3. Chapter 3

Hux felt a warmth wash over his body and he tried to move closer to it, wanting it to consume him. "Ah no." Arms wrapped around him and pulled him back, and into another heat source. "no burning yourself to a crisp I'm afraid." Hux snorted and unapologetically leaned in closer to Ren. He just wanted to be warm.

"I'm still breathing."

"You can still state the obvious as well."

Hux gave him a light whack on the chest but otherwise didn't respond to that. "You know a building with real walls would be even warmer."

"Why do you want to go back to him?" It was asked so softly Hux wouldn't have heard it if he had not been right on top of him.

"I couldn't muster a thimbles worth of caring for that man.... It's the others I worry for."

"Phasma's there."

"Please Ren, I want to go home."

"So he's home?"

"No, my men are. That base is. Familiarity is. Safety even. That- that thing who parades around like a man..." An involuntary shiver ran down his spine as phantom hands caressed his body, teeth that were not there bit into his skin.

"Armitage-"

Hux tensed, sighed and fell silent again. "Fine." He knew he'd get no where. At least not on this route. He started to pull away but Ren kept him close. The red head was too tired to care.

"Maybe we can storm the camp. Kill the bastard once and for all and then take over the base."

"We risk losing men that way." Hux said with a sigh.

"Not if they see you fighting with me. Armitage, you underestimate the loyalty they have to you. It wasn't Snoke they were following when the shit hit the fan, it was you."

"And you put entirely too much faith in my men's loyalty to me."

Hux felt Ren push him away enough to look at him and he frowned at being removed from the warmth. "No I don't. I've been working with and observing you and your men for the last decade. I know where their loyalties lie, and I know that's why Snoke keeps you under his thumb."

Hux scowled and shook his head pulling himself the rest of the way out of Ren's arms. "I'm not under his thumb."

"Oh really? Cause last I checked, you made a lot of personal visits to that man. Normally when something needed to be done."

The red head sneered and wrapped his arms around himself as it dawned on him that Ren knew exactly what he'd been doing the last ten years of his life. "That's hardly me under his thumb. I could, at any moment, turn the tables." He said defensively. He knew it was a lie though- Kylo was right...

"I know you could." Hux snapped his head up and looked back at the other man. He had expected him to scoff and call him out on his lie. Not agree with him. "That's what I'm saying Hux." He moved towards him again and wrapped his arms around his waist and tugged the red head back into him. "With both of us we could take the camp with few casualties and then kill that man."

"But the ones who side with him-"

"Don't deserve to live in my book." Kylo replied darkly.

Hux sighed and leaned into the man again, closing his eyes. "What would be your plan?"

Kylo grinned as Hux started to come around and quickly dive into the plan he'd been cooking up for weeks. He'd had to tweak it some now that he was on the outside but he still thought it very workable. "I'm sure you're aware of the Trojan horse?"

Hux already knew he was going to regret this.

They spent the next day working out the plan. Jeb and the others had come back at some point saying that Bai had been taken care of. Hux wanted to know how, but Kylo waved it off not caring about the details. They had more important things to discuss anyways.

"It won't work like that, Any of my men would see the Knights hiding in the tree line. No they need to come by way of the stream. No one gives to fucks about that area except me, thinking zombies can't swim."

"They can't Hux."

"That we've seen. We don't know how that virus will have mutated-"

"Not right now. So the stream, Menlo be wet and freezing."

"Please, if I can do it they can manage a few seconds in the water."

"He's right sir, if it means taking back the base, we can afford to get wet."

"See? They're listening to reason. It'll be mass suicide if they come in the front. Snoke will no doubt be expecting some isn't of attack with as long as I've been gone. He knows it won't have taken me this long to find you and so is no doubt expecting something to happen."

"How can you possibly know that?"

"Because I've been with him the last ten years. Longer if you include when he brought me into his division. I know how he thinks, because I would think the same thing. If Phasma had taken this long to retreated Ren I would be expecting them to try and kill me. We'll need a knight as well, that way it's more believe able that the others died."

"Very well. Nuabe can come with us whole Jeb leads the others round back."

"Why do we want this base? Surely we could find another-"

"Because this ones already stocked, this one has men loyal to me,this one has fresh water. It's well defended from the zombies and quite honestly is the place I've been calling home for a very long time. So yes we must take this one back." Hux snapped.

"Armitage calm down." Hux rolled his eyes but nodded his head. "So it sounds like we have a plan, is everyone ready?" There were various nods from around the group. "Alright, pack up and let's get going. This time tomorrow we'll be back in that base."

"One way or another." Hux added under his breath. He felt Kylo take his wrist and pull him aside as the Knights started to tear down tents and lack up. "I still feel like this is going to go bad."

"You need to trust me." Kylo said. "I won't let you get hurt."

"I'm not some thing that needs to be protected Ren. I'm quite capable of-"

"I know Armitage."

There he used his name again. He'd been trying to keep the warmth it made him feel off his face, but it didn't stop the warmth spread from the top of his head to the tips of his toes. "You know I've always hated that name." He finally said.

"Armitage?"

"Yes, it's only ever been used in a negative sense. I- I think you're the first person to have actually used it as just a name... And not some slur or something of the like." He waved a hand dismissively. "Never mind."

Kylo started to grin and moved towards him. "So you enjoy when I say it?"

"It's not- I was merely saying that... It's a nice change. Something I could get. Used- Kylo- Ren don't give me that look." He took a step back as Kylo smirked. "You know what, I take it all back. Don't ever call me that again."

"Oh that only makes me want to use it more." He grinned as he stopped right in front of Hux and looked over his face, eyes flicking to his lips before back up to his eyes.

"Kylo we are about to go to war essentially. This is not the time or place to be doing anything... Of what ever this is."

"Do you ever relax?"

"No. How could I when I have to deal with you on a daily basis?" He smirked before ducking around Ren and adjusted his clothes. "Come along Ren we have a base to take back."

-

Hux blinked several times as he refocused in the here and now. He almost wished he could go back to that point in time, stop them all from trying to take the base back. It had been the wrong move. His eyes caught Kylo's, knowing well the look that haunted them. Would it be merciful to kill him now?

Snoke had indeed been waiting for them, expecting something to happen. Hux should have known, just as he had gotten to know Snoke, Snoke had gotten to know him. Those loyal to Hux had been sent in various scavenging missions, and those loyal to Snoke had been waiting in ambush.

Hux still believed that someone had tipped him off, but he could for the life of him figure out who could have done that. All of the ingots had been accounted for when making the plans, or at least those who had been alive. He almost envied Bai. He'd gotten to die a quick death no doubt. His fellow Knights hadn't fared so lucky.

It had been futile from the moment they'd stepped foot into the camp. Nuabe had been killed on the spot, and Kylo almost as quickly if the cry that he was to be taken alive hadn't gone through the camp.

Those who were loyal to Hux who were still in the camp tried to fight and had only gotten themselves killed in the process... The Knights, a third of his men... All dead because he hadn't been able to outthink Snoke yet again.

"What shall his sentence be Hux?" Phasma asked again, starting to look a little worried.

Hux looked up and set his jaw, eyes narrowed as he looked at Ren. He scoffed and clicked his tongue. Was it selfish to not want to be alone here? Was it selfish to want Ren to live? Was it the right thing? "He's hardly suffered enough for the crimes committed against this base. He should remain alive so he can payback the suffering he's brought to this camp."

His eyes locked with Ren's and he tried to convey everything he was feeling in that moment without anyone else seeing. The way Kylo looked at him made him think he'd chosen right. Of course he had, no one ever wanted to die... Or at least he assumed other people felt that way.

"Very well. Kylo Ren you are welcomed back as the lost child you were. Come and swear you loyalty to me once more and I shall forgive you this treason." Kylo was released from his bonds and walked stiffly over to Snoke where he took an oath once again to protect and serve the man. Hux watched as Snoke said something that had Hux stiffen and anger roll off of him but what ever it was, was only meant for the pair of them.

Kylo got up and walked over to Hux where he took up the spot beside him. "All hail the supreme leader!" Hux said with a salute. The rest of the men followed, echoing the cry and salute.

"We will fix this Hux." Ren said quietly. "We will be free."

As the men started to disperse Hux grabbed Rens hand a moment giving him a quick squeeze, "I know you believe that." He said softly before he followed after Snoke.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And that's the conclusion of the short story. As said at the beginning this is a sort of background story to the larger one I'm working on right now and I hope to have the up here in a bit. 
> 
> Sorry this one was a short compared to the other, and I promise in the story proper that Hux and Kylo get more real one on one time c;
> 
> Thank you for reading and hope you enjoyed it!


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